A compact digital luggage scale is particularly useful in the Falklands because FIGAS currently publishes a 20 kg personal baggage allowance for visitors and asks passengers to provide accurate baggage information. Choose a simple scale you can actually pack rather than a heavy home-style device.
What matters
- Capacity comfortably above 20 kg
- Clear kg display
- Strong strap or hook
- Hold function so you can read the result after lowering the bag
- Replaceable, commonly available battery
- Low empty weight
Do not pack to exactly the limit
Home scales and operational scales can differ slightly. Leave a sensible margin and remember that wet gear and souvenirs can increase weight later in the trip.
A scale does not guarantee excess carriage
If you expect to exceed your allowance, notify FIGAS in advance. Accurate weighing helps planning but does not create extra aircraft capacity.
Use the scale before every inter-island move
Your bag can gain weight through damp clothing, food or purchases even when you have not added obvious gear. Re-weigh before each FIGAS sector and keep the scale somewhere accessible rather than buried at the bottom of checked luggage. Treat its reading as a planning estimate and leave margin for differences between household and operational scales.
Why accuracy matters on FIGAS
FIGAS uses passenger and baggage weights for flight planning on its small inter-island aircraft. A luggage scale is therefore useful for more than avoiding a fee: it helps you give realistic information before travel. Leave a little margin rather than treating a home scale reading of exactly 20.0 kg as a target.
